This invention relates to data retrieval systems for use on networks.
The so-called world wide web has become a popular medium to deliver information on-line. The world wide web also referred to as the "Internet" offers users a simple and intuitive way of browsing multimedia information arranged as web pages. A web page includes information and hyperlinks or connections to other web pages. Pages for delivering information can be implemented on private internets, commonly referred to as "intranets." In either the Internet or intranets, the types of multimedia data that can be accessed has grown from text and bit map images to include sound, digital video, interactive video and virtual reality. Information on the world wide web is presented as multimedia pages and interaction is performed through selecting active elements such as buttons, hyperlinked words, and image maps.
Access to the Internet is generally provided with a client-server computer system model. Generally a server computer provides services such as internet access for client computers. The client computers have web browsers that couple the client computer to the server computer and permit users to access various resources available on the Internet or an intranet. One of the resources can be local or a remote database server having a text-based database or a relational database or other types of databases.
One technique used on the world wide web to access databases uses embedded structured query language commands (SQL) and proprietary language in authored hypertext pages that are parsed by an augmented hypertext server and passed to a database server for execution. Another technique employs templates to specify queries and formatting for database searches. Finally, program gateways such as Hypertext Transfer Protocol Device--Common Gateway Interface (HTTPD-CGI), the most common gateway interface, allow programs to be executed by the server in response to a hypertext request. While these examples of web-based database access provide fundamental connectivity between hypertext servers and databases, they do not take full advantage of the wide range and rich offerings available on the Internet.